Modern difficulties for not only bees, but butterflies, hedgehogs and many forms of wildlife are well known. It is good that the pollinating activities of bees are more greatly appreciated these days than formerly, when the question generally asked of beekeepers like me was “Have you had a good honey harvest?”

  What joy to travel around the area at this time of year and enjoy the beauty of apple orchards, some credit for which must go to this Conservation Society. Whether it be the large stands such as we see at West Bradley and many other places, or just the few one can admire on the hillside ahead when driving up Bere Lane [photo, page 1], apple trees are part of what we associate with this area. They need cross-pollinating by honeybees and other species in order to bear fruit.

  Currently in the news is controversy about neonicotinoids for controlling insect pests and of disagreement between the British agriculture ministry (Defra) and the EU, the latter having ordered a two-year restriction on these pesticides starting later in 2013. Will this decision mean that funding for further research will cease and that farmers, to protect their crops, particularly oilseed rape, will turn to other, possibly more harmful chemicals? The current focus on neonicotinoids as being the main cause of bee losses is unhelpful and untrue.

  Other factors exist, such as the appalling weather for the past year. Habitat destruction and lack of continuity of forage, in combination, have a greater impact on bees and other pollinators than do pesticides.

  For honeybees, the main problem is the varroa mite, first found in Britain in 1992. They suck the blood of both larval and adult bees and also act as vectors in the spread of virus diseases formerly tolerated by the colony but from which it can now succumb. Enthusiastic beekeepers wish to continue keeping bees despite the challenges they face.

  The varroa mite has transformed bee husbandry, and beekeepers have risen to the challenge. This year beekeepers will concentrate on making good their winter losses, helping their fellow beekeepers and hoping for good weather later in the summer when the flowers of clover, brambles and lime trees will abound.